


Kitten

by orphan_account



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn with Feelings, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 07:28:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23467648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You just wanted to see if the rumors were true.Everyone in the building had been talking about it, but nothing was confirmed and you were determined to find out for sure. So, that’s how you found yourself across the hall from your own dorm in the middle of the night, knocking on your neighbor’s door.
Relationships: Zhang Yi Xing | Lay/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> alternate title: will i ever write anything other than college au?  
> (the answer is no)  
> this was inspired by that one 'first times' buzzfeed article. if you know you know.  
> anyways.  
> unbeta'd, because well, you know.  
> this is my first longer-than-one-shot fic, so don't expect too much from me. plz.
> 
> enjoy.

You just wanted to see if the rumors were true.    
  
Everyone in the building had been talking about it (very hushed, of course, everything would be ruined if the RA knew), but nothing was confirmed and you were determined to find out for sure. So, that’s how you found yourself across the hall from your own dorm in the middle of the night, knocking on your neighbor’s door. The door opened slowly, and a (very handsome) man poked his head out into the hall, meeting your eyes.    
  
“Is there a problem?” he asked slowly, looking around to see if anyone else was in the hall. Wow, totally not suspicious at all.   
  
“Is what they’re saying true?” you asked, and he narrowed his eyes.    
  
“Who’s asking?”   
  
“Just me.”   
  
“Who told you?”   
  
“My roommate. Listen, is it true or not? It’s cold as hell out here and if you’re just gonna disappoint me I’m going back to my room.”    
  
He blinked at you a few times, as if trying to decide if you could be trusted. Finally, he sighed. “Yeah, it’s true. Wanna come in and see? We haven’t been taking visitors but if you can keep a secret I can, too.” He smiled at you- entirely too warmly for someone who was just interrogating you as if you were the prime suspect in his mother’s murder case- and opened the door wider, letting you into the room. You thanked him with a smile of your own, and stepped inside.    
  
“So… where is it?”   
  
“Wait here and I’ll get her. We’ve had to keep her hidden for the most part in case anyone comes around looking. I’ll be back in a second. Make yourself comfortable, yeah?”  _ Her.  _ Huh, ok. You nodded, and took a seat on his couch, which was just as uncomfortable as it looked. God, the pre-furnished dorms fucking sucked. He flashed another quick smile before heading towards what you could only assume was his bedroom. As soon as he was out of your sight, you whipped out your phone to text your roommate a very quick and very cryptic  _ I’m in  _ before stuffing the phone back in your pocket.    
  
A very tiny squeak came from the doorway and you snapped your head up so quickly you quite possibly could have given yourself whiplash. Right in front of you was the cutest kitten you’d ever had the honor of seeing in your entire life.   
  
“Oh my god,” you whispered, and you stood instantly, walking towards the two of them, “how did you even get her in here?” You reached your hand up to let the kitten sniff you before giving her a pet between the ears.   
  
“A friend who lives off campus is moving into a new place that doesn’t allow pets, so I took her from him.”   
  
“...And so you took her to a different place that doesn’t allow pets?”   
  
He winced slightly, but nodded. “Yeah, I guess that doesn’t sound too great, does it? But like, he was just going to take her to the pound! I couldn’t let that happen to this poor little baby,” to emphasize his point, he gave the cat a tiny kiss on her tiny head, and she squeaked a tiny little meow in response.    
  
“It makes sense,” you hummed, “but I’m not here to grill you or snitch, I just wanted to see. She’s cute, what’s her name?”    
  
“Huh? Oh, she doesn’t have a name. I just call her cat,” he admitted , and you couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that bad? Should she have a name?” His apparent concern just made you laugh even more, and you caught yourself after a few moments, apologizing.   
  
“Sorry, I- I  _ swear  _ it’s not that funny I’ve just never heard anyone say that before. Um, it’s your cat, dude. If you don’t think she needs a name, then she doesn’t need a name. Regardless, she’s such a sweetheart!” you ended your statement with a small coo, petting the kitten gently. She purred, leaning into your touch, and you screamed internally at how cute the tiny creature was.    
  
While you didn’t exactly scream out loud as well, you did make a few choked off squeals when she started to lick at your hand.   
  
“She’s cute, right?”   
  
“Yeah, the cutest ever. I get why you kept her. I would’ve done the same thing.” there was a slightly awkward bout of silence as you continued to pet the cat, until the man cleared his throat.    
  
“So, like, are you going to introduce yourself, or are you just going to chill out in my dorm all night and not say anything?” he asked, the amusement in his eyes being the only thing stopping you from apologizing profusely. Instead, you let out a surprised laugh and met his gaze.   
  
“Right! I’m ___. I live across the hall. Sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night…” this would be the part where you’d say his name, but you’ve realized you don’t know it. Kind of embarrassing.   
  
“My name’s Yixing, and don’t worry about it. I’ve had much worse late night visitors,” he gave you a quick wink and you chuckled, instantly at ease with him. You could already tell he was one of those people who was just easy to get along with, and you really dug it. Then, his name rang a bell.    
  
“You’re the one who’s roommates with Jongdae, right?” You knew Jongdae as the TA for your choir class. “The guy who keeps pranking the RA? How have you not been caught yet?”    
  
“Who, Junmyeon? Him and Jongdae go way back, we get away with entirely too much, honestly. He’s really a lot more chill than he lets on, just don’t tell anyone I told you. He likes to pretend he’s all tough and he actually  _ would  _ beat my ass if he knew I told anyone otherwise.” Yixing huffed out a small laugh and you grinned.    
  
“Your secret’s safe with me, I promise,” you told him, and he smiled warmly back at you. You gave the cat one more quick pat before yawning. “I should probably head back to my room, I’ve got morning classes tomorrow. Thanks for letting me see her, I would’ve been up all night wondering otherwise.”   
  
“Hey, no problem. You’re welcome back anytime. She loves visitors, and I don’t mind them either, especially when they’re as cute as you.” You blinked, unsure if you heard him correctly or you were just sleep deprived.   
  
“Um, yeah. For sure. See you around! Have a good night.”    
  
With that, you headed back to your room, flopping down on the bottom bunk confused.  _ He thought you were cute?  _ You fell asleep to the sound of your roommate snoring and a head full of thoughts of Yixing.   



	2. 2

You actually ran into Jondae before you saw Yixing again, bumping into him in the cafeteria one of the few times you stopped in for breakfast. He apologized to you quickly, but before he was out of earshot, you spoke up.

“So, how’s your furry friend?” you asked, trying your best to sound casual.

“Who, Chanyeol?”

“What? The cat. What the hell? Who?” Your confusion must have been visible on your face because Jongdae cackled before pulling you by the arm towards a table of boys who were being entirely too loud for how early it was in the day.

“I’ve got some pictures of her on my phone, come sit with us and I’ll show you. How do you even know about her? I thought we were doing a pretty good job at keeping her a secret. Anyways. Let me introduce you to the guys.” He pulled up a seat for you at the table and you took it, thanking him before setting your cup of shitty cafeteria coffee on the table. Yixing noticed you immediately, and gave you a small wave from across the table.

“Hey, ___!” He said cheerfully, and Jongdae cocked his head to the side.

“Oh, you guys already know each other? Cool, one less person to introduce. Anyways. ___, this is Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol. Guys, this is ___. She’s in my choir class.” You waved to the table. Kyungsoo said a small _hello_ to you before looking back to the notes in front of him, and Chanyeol and Baekhyun greeted you as well before getting back into what seemed to be a heated discussion about a game you had never heard of before.

Jongdae sat next to you and whipped out his phone from his back pocket, swiping a few times before pulling up his camera roll. He handed it to you and you gasped, eyes lit up at an image of the cat stretched out in front of a window, sunbathing. He showed you a few more pictures and you made sure to verbalize how much you appreciated them.

“I think she’s the most beautiful thing in the entire world, and also I’m in love with her. I will do anything for her.” Jongdae hummed in agreement with your statement, and his lips curled up into a smile, his expression strikingly similar to the cat on his screen. You glanced up across the table and caught Yixing staring at you. You scrunched your nose and smiled at him, and he gave a timid smile back before looking away, almost… shyly?

You didn’t have much time to think too much about it, though, because two boys sat themselves down at the table- you recognized one was Junmyeon, your RA, but you didn’t know who the other was. His incredibly impressive eyebrows and near perfect posture would have made him seem fairly intimidating in any other circumstance, but he was in the middle of receiving a very stern talking-to from Junmyeon.

“You know I’m going to find it eventually, right? You can’t hide it from me forever, Sehun.”

“Myeonnie I swear to God I don’t have a microwave in my room. I don’t know what the neighbors told you, but they’re lying. I will literally let you check my room with me after our next class.”

“No, because you’re going to text Jongin to hide it between now and then! I know you two are trying to get away with keeping contraband in your room, and it isn’t okay! What kind of RA would I be if I let you guys off the hook for this? It’s a fire hazard!”

“Okay, listen. Hypothetically, if we _did_ have a microwave in our room -which we _don’t_ \- how exactly is that unacceptable, but it’s okay for Yixing and Jongdae to have a c-”

“ _Wonderful_ weather we’ve been having recently, don’t you all think?” Jongdae exclaimed suddenly, cutting off the conversation, a wide and very artificial smile plastered onto his face, “I think we should all take a walk together sometime soon. Junmyeon, how have your classes been? Good? Mine as well. Sehun, may I have a word with you, please? Alone?” He stood from his chair abruptly and grabbed the boy by the arm, dragging him from his seat without giving him time to protest. When they were far enough away from the table that they couldn’t be heard, you could see Jongdae begin to lecture the other boy, gesturing wildly at him.

“Sorry about that, probably not the best first impression I could have given,” you jumped slightly and turned back to the table to see Junmyeon had slid into the seat next to you. He held out his hand for you to shake. “I know I’ve seen you around, but it seems like we hardly talk. ___, right? Thank you for actually following the rules.” You nodded, taking his hand.

“I try not to be too much of a bother,” you told him, and he smiled back at you tiredly.

“It’s appreciated. I’ve seen… some things. It’s not an easy job.” He admitted, and you hummed in response. For someone who couldn’t be more than two years older than you, he sure acted like a whole ass adult. Before you could ask him to share war stories with you, you noticed the majority of the students in the cafeteria were heading out, and you checked your phone to see that you had to head to your first class of the day.

“Oh… I don’t want to be late, so I’d better head to class,” you said with a small pout, and Junmyeon nodded. You grabbed your bag, and Yixing stood.

“I’ll walk you to class,” he offered, and before you could tell him it wasn’t necessary, he was at your side.

The two of you walked in a comfortable silence for a while before you spoke up.

“Your friends are… fun,” you told him, and he laughed.

“Yeah, they’re something else. I would’ve warned you if I knew you were going to join us- not that I minded at all, I like your company. You should sit with us more often,” he said, and you grinned, nodding your head.

“Definitely.”

His knuckles brushed against yours for a moment, and he quickly pulled his hand away. You looked up at him to see a faint blush spreading across his face. Weird. The two of you were nearing your building, so you spoke up once more.

“This is me up here. Thanks for walking me to class, Yixing.” You told him, and suddenly an idea came to your mind. You pulled out your phone, opened it up to the contacts, and handed it to him. “Can I get your number? So I can get more cat pictures.” He grinned and nodded, typing in his phone number. Before he handed your phone back to you he opened up your camera, made a (very… interesting) face, and took a selfie, setting it as his contact photo. Cute. You laughed and he looked down into your eyes, a few seconds longer than he needed to.

“See you later, yeah? Have a good day, ___.”

“You too,” you said shyly, and headed into the building, quickly sending him a text that said _hey :p_ before taking a seat in your first class. Your phone buzzed almost instantly afterwards.

 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _text me AFTER class!!!!!!_


	3. 3

After a long day of classes, you found yourself sprawled out on the lower bunk of your bed, scrolling through different apps absentmindedly to pass time, when you received another text from Yixing.  
  
 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _hey what are you doing tmw night_

 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _idk if youre into parties but my friend minseok invited jongdae and i to this mixer his frat is hosting and i thought i might ask_ _  
_ _  
_ **Yixing!! ^_^:** _only if you want to tho_   
  
You smiled to yourself before responding.

 **You:** _idk you may have to convince me_   
  
**Yixing!! ^_^:** _there will be loud music and cheap alcohol and a lot of bad dancing_  
  
 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _actually maybe i shouldnt try to convince you im not good at this hold on_  
  
 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _AYO its jongdae you’re coming to the party tomorrow we’ll pick you up at like 10 be ready k?_ _  
_  
 **You:** _lol see you guys then_  
  
You honestly hadn’t been to a party since freshman year. You kicked at the mattress of the top bunk until your roommate woke up.  
  
“Wuhh what is it.”  
  
“What am I supposed to wear to a party?”  
  
“Iunno. Clothes? Who invited you to a party.”  
  
“Yixing.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Yixing.”  
  
“Oh, okay.” Before you could say anything else, you heard snoring above you again. You rolled your eyes. Great help. You plugged your phone in to charge before rolling onto your side, again finding yourself falling asleep thinking of Yixing.   
  
___  
  
When you woke up it was already light outside, and you panicked for a moment before remembering what day it was. No class on Fridays, thank God. You rubbed your eyes for a moment, adjusting to the light in the room before checking your phone. After tending to your (depressingly small amount of) notifications, you decided to text Yixing.  
  
 **You:** _hey what am i supposed to wear tonight_ _  
_

He responded almost instantly.

 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _idk clothes_   
  
**You:** _thats not helpful why does everyone say that_

 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _cuz its true. youll look cute no matter what why does it matter_  
  
 **You:** _cuz i dont wanna stick out. let me talk to jongdae! hes more helpful :)_  
  
 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _just ask for his number_  
  
 **You:** _no this is more fun_ _  
_  
 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _fine_

 **Yixing!! ^_^:** _hey its dae literally dont overthink this just dress casual!! bring a jacket tho minseokie never lets anyone at sigma mu touch the thermostat and its still cold out. we’ll see you tonight_ _  
_ _  
_ **You:** _thank uuu_ _  
_ _  
_ **Yixing!! ^_^:** _see u tonight :)_ **_  
_** **_  
_** After several hours of ‘studying’ (read: fucking around on social media with your textbooks open in front of you with breaks to take short trips to the Keurig machine in the corner of your room), you checked the clock to see it was an hour before Jongdae and Yixing were supposed to pick you up, so you shut your books and began to get ready.   
  
Digging through your closet for a proper outfit resulted in a massive mess of clothes piled on your bed, but you decided that was a problem for _future_ you. You heeded Jongdae’s advice to dress casually, and put on your favorite pair of jeans, along with a plain tee and a corduroy jacket. You had just finished applying your makeup when your phone buzzed.   
  
**Yixing!! ^_^:** _what room are you in?_ _  
_ _  
_ **You:** _215_ _  
_ _  
_ Instead of a response, a few minutes later you heard knocking on your door. You slipped on a pair of sneakers and made sure to grab your phone and keys before turning off the lights and stepping out into the hallway.   
  
Yixing and Jongdae were waiting out in the hall for you, and at the sight of you, the former’s eyes lit up.   
  
“Hey! You look great. Ready to go?” he asked, and you nodded, locking your door.   
  
“Lead the way.”

It actually ended up being Jongdae who led the way, after seemingly getting impatient with the speed at which you were walking.   
  
“I know being fashionably late is, like, a _thing_ , but Minseok invited me to this party personally and I haven’t seen him in a solid 2 days and 8 hours, so we could definitely be walking faster than this,” he mumbled.   
  
“He always gets cranky on the weekends,” Yixing whispered to you while rolling his eyes, “he only has classes with Minseok on Mondays and Wednesdays, so he’s going through withdrawals right now. Don’t take it personally, once he’s had a few drinks and gets to see him he’ll be fine.”   
  
“It’s nice that they’re so close,” you whispered back, and Yixing nodded in agreement. The three of you probably looked a little comical to anyone without context- speed walking across campus late at night- but the only thing you could focus on was how cold your hands were. The early spring nights had yet to warm up, and you were grateful that you listened to Jongdae’s suggestion to bring a jacket.   
  
___   
  
When the three of you made it to the Sigma Mu house, Jongdae invited himself in as if he had been there hundreds of times before- which wouldn’t be too far off, honestly, if the way he talked about Minseok meant anything at all. You followed closely behind him, and were instantly greeted with the sound of music blasting from speakers a few rooms away. Jongdae instantly peaced out- evidently he had more important people to see- and left you and Yixing in the entryway.   
  
“Drinks?” Yixing suggested, and you agreed. He chuckled, and wrapped his hand around your wrist, pulling you further into the house. His hand warmed yours quickly. “Christ, you’re cold,” he mumbled, and you laughed at him.   
  
Soon enough, you found your way into the kitchen, and Yixing grabbed two plastic cups, dunking them gracelessly into an intimidatingly large punch bowl that was situated in the middle of the island. He handed one cup to you, and you eyed it warily for a moment before looking back at Yixing, who was already almost halfway finished with his drink. He met your eyes, and pulled away from the cup.   
  
“Jongdae and I go to mixers here, like, biweekly. Never once has anything been spiked. Trust me, you’re safe,” he assured you. You nodded slightly, and took a small sip from your cup. The taste wasn’t quite like anything you’d ever experienced before, almost like cough syrup mixed with everclear mixed with a 5-hour energy, and the expression on your face must’ve made it obvious. “Or, we could do shots,” Yixing suggested.   
  
“Shots would be _fantastic_ .”   
  
Cheap vodka wasn’t much of an improvement from the punch- it burned just the same- but it got you tipsy quite a bit faster, and after a few shots you found yourself pulling on Yixing’s sleeve. He tilted his head at you, confused, and you giggled.   
  
“Dance with me.”   
  
Evidently you didn’t have to tell him twice, because after he heard your words he pulled you to the basement, where a small crowd of people were already dancing, moving in time with the music. You instantly began to dance with Yixing, and if the alcohol made your movements a little less refined than usual, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he danced right along with you.   
  
It was a nice change of pace, spending a Friday night out with others instead of studying alone. Maybe not the best choice for your GPA, but what the hell, YOLO or whatever. You were brought out of your thoughts when you felt a hand on your waist, and you looked up to see Yixing, a little closer than he was before.   
  
“I know I already told you this before, but you look really good tonight,” he told you, raising his voice in order for you to hear him over the blare of the music. You smiled widely, and lifted one hand up to his shoulder.   
  
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” you teased, and he grinned, his dimples making an appearance on his cheeks. _Cute. Cute. Too fucking cute. Everything about him was too cute._   
  
You continued dancing with him for a while, growing more comfortable with the closeness, until your buzz began to fade. You poked him in the chest a few times before telling him you were going to go get another drink, and he nodded, squeezing your hip gently before letting you go.   
  
You headed up the stairs to the kitchen, but before you got there, you saw a Jongdae-shaped figure running to the front door in a hurry. You abandoned your drink plan in favor of following him.   
  
The chill of the outdoors hit you as soon as you stepped outside, and you saw Jongdae leaning against the railing of the front porch, seemingly shaking with more than just chills. He had just finished pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket when he noticed you.   
  
“Sorry, I-”   
  
“I don’t mind if you smoke,” you told him quickly, and walked over to stand next to him. He sighed, obviously grateful, and pulled a cigarette out of its package, flicking his lighter a few times before a flame appeared. The two of you stood in silence for a while, the smell of smoke filling the air each time he exhaled. “Everything okay? I don’t want to pry or anything, but you seemed like you were trying to get out of there in a hurry.”   
  
“Fucking,” he paused to take another hit, “fucking Minseok and his stupid fucking biceps and his stupid fucking girlfriend.” You blinked at him a few times, and he groaned in frustration, tamping out his finished cigarette on the railing before dropping it into his empty solo cup. “I mean, it’s not like he owes me anything at all, but you’d think he’d- fuck- you’d think he’d at least try to be considerate of my feelings or something, right? I’m not being too much of a pussy for thinking he would try, am I? Fuck, I hate straight men,” he laughed bitterly to himself, and tugged on a stray thread on his jacket.   
  
“I don’t think you’re being irrational or anything,” you told him, and he rolled his eyes. “No, Jongdae- just listen, yeah? I haven’t met him and I don’t know the extent of your situation, but like, I’m assuming you guys are really close. I don’t think you’re being irrational for wanting to be acknowledged, Jongdae,” you repeated, and he sighed. His eyes softened a bit before he spoke again.   
  
“I shouldn’t have dumped this on you, sorry. Thank you for coming out here and talking to me, even though you didn’t have to. I’ll be okay, I just need to get over myself,” his voice was softer than you’ve ever heard before, and you looked up at him to see a tiny smile on his face. You stepped closer, giving him a small hug.   
  
“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” you told him seriously. “We can bring takeout back to my room and get drunk on my roommate’s wine and talk about, fuck, emotions or whatever.” That made him laugh, a real laugh instead of a dry chuckle, and the sound of it warmed you more than his hug did.   
  
“I appreciate it, ___. I think I’m just going to head back for the night, but you should stay with Yixing. I don’t want you to have to leave so soon.” You were about to disagree with him, but he continued before you could. “Really, I’ll be fine. Yixing’s cat should, like, be considered a therapy animal or something. She calms me down really easily. Go back to the party.” He patted you on the shoulder and took a few steps towards the stairs down to the yard, turning to give you a small wave before heading back to his dorm. 

You stood out on the porch for a few more minutes, the music inside muffled but still audible. You felt your phone buzz in your back pocket, and pulled it out to see a text from Yixing, asking where you were. Just as you pulled up your keyboard to type a reply, the front door opened, causing you to jump.   
  
“Oh! Hey, there you are, I’ve been looking for you, like, everywhere,” Yixing said softly, shutting the door behind him and taking the few steps to be at your side.   
  
“Jongdae just left,” you told him.   
  
“Boy problems?” he asked.   
  
“Boy problems,” you confirmed. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.   
  
“They go off and on like this,” he told you, “it’s entirely too complicated to try and explain right now, but basically Jongdae is a little dramatic and Minseok is a little stupid.” You chuckled, and leaned into his side. He hesitated for a few seconds before wrapping an arm around you, holding you close. “I get the feeling you aren’t in the mood to go back inside.” You hummed in confirmation, and he pulled away to grab your hand and lead you away from the house.   
  
“Where are we going?” you asked, but followed him anyways.   
  
“For a walk. Are you hungry? I’m in the mood for a burger, come with me?”   
  
“I don’t think I have ever said no to a burger,” you told him seriously, and he giggled.

“Let’s go get a burger, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss jongdae


End file.
